Final Fantasy VII 1. Moments

This story doesn't directly follow the Advent Children storyline. There may be slight references, but AC wasn't released yet, therefore all info wasn't known yet. Such as why Cloud left, etc.

Disclaimer : I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of the characters.

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Gravity – Chapter One of Five Moments 

Sometimes the things in this world that are hardest to understand are the things that appear to be the most simple. One would think that love would be simple, right? Either you love someone or something ,or you don't? Right? Wrong. There are different kinds of love and all of them equally complicated. You may one day ask yourself why you love this someone or something, what is it about them or it that you are so attached to, and why would you be so devastated when they were no longer there. All of these questions were common in the minds of Tifa Lockhart, and Cloud Strife for both of them experienced a love that was not understood.

Tifa, who had been running her rebuilt bar Seventh Heaven for the past two years had left abruptly, without a word. It seemed strange that one so attached to her memories would abandon them so suddenly without preparation, but in all honesty, Tifa had been preparing for that moment , ever since the day _He_ was destroyed. She seemed to avoid touching the subject vocally but sure enough would sulk in her room after the day was done and all eyes had left her.

She often was the center of attention, being the bar mistress, and a beautiful one at that. Happy and enthusiastic during the day, she drew a lot of focus from the guys, and some genuinely cared about her and wanted to get to know her. So of course they were all concerned when she disappeared.

Cloud on the other hand seemed torn . At first he had returned to Midgar to greet Tifa, let her know everything was ok and be on his way again , but when he arrived at Seventh Heaven, it was empty. Strange was the only word he could think of. Maybe she just went away to think. On his last visit, they had discussed _her. _Yes, he was searching for _her_ and the Promised Land. Finding _her_ was a huge part of his life, he needed forgiveness and Tifa had accepted that. She even agreed to go find _her_ with him. She herself needed a little forgiveness for letting her friend down.

In his heart, he knew she didn't go looking for _her_, because they agreed that she would go with him when the right time came, so where could she be?

All of these thoughts ran through Cloud's mind as he walked aimlessly around her apartment. Well…their apartment. True he didn't exactly stay there with his best friend because of his travels, but it was a very special place because he could call it his home.

He remembered one of the new promises they had made to each other since the start of their new lives. Tifa's face had lit up with excitement for the first time since meteor.

" _Cloud , this is my…no, our new beginning. I want us to finally live without looking back" Tifa rested her head on her right palm, a drink in her left. Cloud looked emotionless for a while, but then cracked a smile. _

"_Hey Teef, what exactly do you have in mind?" He seemed curious now, giving her his full attention. _

"_Well…Seventh Heaven is going well, and I have my apartment"_

"_Yeah"_

"_Look I know you don't stay for long, but well…do you remember our night together before the final battle? We were all alone, no place to call home, and no one to go home to. I think, yes it was the worst feeling that I've ever had. I never want to feel alone again, and I think that you don't either so why don't we live here… together. That way when you're on your own, even if you like it that way, you have a place to call home and your best friend will always be here waiting for you, that's a promise. _

"_Tifa, you know I can't stay in one place. It's not good for me to be around so many memories. Sector Five , Sector Seven…yes, especially Sector Five" _

"_Cloud. I know it hurts…it hurts me too…she was wonderful but that's not to say traveling to a different place will make it go away. I know it helps but…there is nowhere we can go that isn't filled with memories, good or bad. _

"………"

" _Promise me that one day you'll call this place your home"_

"_Tifa…"_

"_Promise me Cloud" Tifa was neither pleading nor demanding, she was asking and it was as simple as that. _

"_Ok…I promise" Cloud felt as if he was taking advantage of her, using her as shelter from the rain pouring down on his life. He didn't dislike the fact that he and his best friend shared a home, after all he had been sleeping there already, however it was never official. He hadn't had a place to call home for years and if he hadn't been a rock when it came to emotions, perhaps he would have been more open about how happy he felt._

_Happiness … that emotion was so rare, but his best friend, along with a few others managed to squeeze that emotion out of his shell. An emotional shell he had been perfecting for years and years to come. A shell that had been penetrated by **her** death, and nearly broken after being taunted and mocked by **him. **By the time Cloud realized he was losing control, his emotional barrier had been cracked, driven by revenge and hate, the emotions which he later used to put his mind back in order. _

"_Anyone in there?" Tifa asked idly, almost stifling her giggle. Almost._

"_What are you laughing at?" Cloud asked , a bit annoyed. _

"_You and your chocobo hair. You look so serious almost as if you were thinking about…" She didn't dare say either name…she didn't even want to touch the subject for fear of getting burned. They both felt the mood change instantly. _

_" I told you…my hair isn't…forget it" He tried to lighten the mood, but was no good so, choosing not to respond to either comment, Cloud went about thanking Tifa once more, then headed off to his room in the small apartment. _

That conversation seemed to shake Cloud , as he fully took in how much things had changed since childhood. Their relationship was stronger and closer than any he could have imagined during his younger days , but he also felt a sorrow for a lost one that he didn't believe he could feel. And the hate…the hate drove him to do many things. One thing the hate would do was force him to wander from city to city. He needed to move and not be drowned in so many memories and dark emotions. He wanted to always remember _her _but_ him…_he could care to forget.He would think about that later though, right now he needed to find Tifa. He needed to let her know he was back and make sure she was alright.

"Tifa… where are you?" Cloud called. For some strange reason, he believed he would get an answer, but of course, he didn't.

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Ok so that was the first of five chapters. That one was short, the other four will be much longer, but it's a short story so it shouldn't be that long of a wait. I'm not sure if this was any good or not, it was my first FFVII fic after all, and well… just review ok. I promise to listen to all of your advice. I tried to keep them in character etc, etc…

Well anyways review and I'll be back with more.


	2. Ascending

Sorry about the wait…

Disclaimer – Still don't own Final Fantasy VII…nope not now either.

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Gravity – Chapter Two of Five – 

Ascending

"Tifa, where are you?" Cloud didn't understand. Tifa wasn't the kind of woman to abandon her life. Never would he even have imagined that he would come home to an empty apartment. Suddenly, this place no longer felt like home, the sweet smell of roses and spices replaced by a dreaded air of loneliness. The once comfortable living atmosphere, now dark and gloomy could even compare to the melancholy solitude of Cloud's heart.

An abrupt ringing startled Cloud causing him to reach behind himself for his Buster Sword. Realizing he was out of line, he stopped to listen to the phone, waiting for the automatic answering system to play.

"You have reached the Lockheart -Strife residency, leave a message and we will return your call as soon as we can." Soon after a high pitched voice filled the quiet room.

" Tifa? Tifa I know you're there! This is important! You can't just forget about your promise you know! You had better call me back or- "

Cloud pressed the button to cut Yuffie off as he sighed. He sat on a chair and began pondering where one of his only friends could have went. Yuffie's call seemed unimportant to him, figuring it was nothing but a promise to go shopping most likely. Girl stuff that Cloud had no interest in whatsoever. So he sat somberly, his mind wandering back to another memory that the two of them shared.

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Yuffie gave a satisfied smile. So Cloud came back after all. Knowing Tifa, she would never disconnect a friend unless something horrible happened and even so she would seek Yuffie's comfort. That meant that Tifa left like she thought, after

the first ten days that she didn't answer her phone.

The young ninja gave a dramatic sigh, grabbed her Materia, and was on her way out the

door when she stopped dead in her tracks.

'Hold that thought!'

A young woman of 22 walked down a dark path. Glowing white trees illuminated her surroundings making it easier to maneuver through the thick forest. Ajit, the Forgotten Capital. Something about this place sent shivers down her spine. Why was this woman here? Tifa wondered this herself.

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"This isn't what I had in mind. I should have gone to Nibelheim first. But I guess it doesn't really matter in the end now does it?" Tifa came to a large pool of water. An image flashed through her head of a girl with a pink dress. A girl she may have let down. No! It wasn't her fault. She wasn't the flower girl's bodyguard now was she? Though she would never think badly like that of Cloud, she couldn't blame herself either. However a sinking feeling still enveloped her senses.

"Aerith…why is it, that we're always lead back to you? A deeper meaning I suppose…" Tifa looked down at the ground and noticed a single yellow flower.

" The drifting flower. You remind me of a dandelion too Aerith, blown away in the wind. But I didn't come here to sulk. No I'm not gonna sulk because I only have good memories of you. It's that bastard Sephiroth that ruined my life in so many ways. So rest in peace."

Tifa picked up the flower and bent over to place it in the pool of water. It floated gently across the lake and Tifa gave a sweet smile then stood to continue her journey.

It didn't occur to Tifa that perhaps she did harbor feelings of guilt towards the death of her friend. That along with many others, this was another one of her demons. However, denial was always the best way to get through something .

Tifa decided that Nibelheim was where her inner turmoil truly rested. After awhile she was back at the location of her motorbike. As she readied herself for her departure, she felt the sinking feeling again. Perhaps she forgot something? A memory even…

" _Tifa! Oh dear poor Cloud! Look what you've done!" Aerith giggled in fits placing her hand over her mouth to keep from making too much noise. As she looked down, a flattened golden mat of hair lay in front of her. Tifa stood with a bottle in her hand as Cloud appeared to be brooding, as usual, only this time with a slight red tint to his cheeks. _

" _Aerith don't laugh, you'll hurt his feeli-" Tifa couldn't help but burst out in laughter as well as Cloud abruptly got up and left. _

" _So then…the shampoo didn't work?" Aerith continued to giggle, picturing Cloud's hair after he tried to wash Blobra slime out with Tifa's 'special' shampoo. _

" _Well when he came out, he didn't look happy and his hair was flat and…no. I guess it didn't work did it? Well let's see you come up with something better!" Tifa challenged. _

" _Well only the most natural ingredients will work of course!" Aerith happily accepted and skipped off to collect some flowers and other natural things for her shampoo concoction. _

Tifa slowly returned back from her memory.

"A good memory, only good memories" That sinking feeling again.

_Aerith kneeled at the alter as Cloud approached her back with sword in hand._

"_Cloud no!"_

_Aerith turned to smile at Cloud. _

_Then it was fast. A clean cut. A falling body. Cloud's voice, full of pain. And Tifa found her vision blurry as she wiped hair out of her fallen friends face and ran off. _

"Damn it…damn it all." And Tifa drove off towards her next destination.

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"Tifa!"

Cloud awoke with a start. Apparently he had fallen asleep on the chair while wondering about Tifa's whereabouts. He looked over to a clock that read 11:42 pm. How long had he been asleep? His dream was very realistic. He remembered finding a younger Tifa wounded and him being too ashamed to show his face. He remembered gently touching her face as she came to. And he remembered who was the one who hurt her in the first place.

_He_ was the source of much devastation. One had to admit he pretty much destroyed every life he came across. Cloud constantly had realistic dreams where _He_ would kill _Her _ortaunthim but never one where he found Tifa. That was a memory that had been locked away by his subconscious. It made Cloud wonder if Tifa was hurt in any way. It made him more anxious to find the chocolate haired girl more than ever. But where would she go? Where would he go to look? He was beginning to have second thoughts about it allMaybe she just wanted to be alone? Maybe she went to Nibelheim. Maybe she went to the Midgar ruins.

Cloud grabbed his PHS out of his pocket and dialed for Barret. If anyone knew, it would probably be Barret.

" Yo! How can I help ya?" A gruff voice answered the phone. Cloud wasted no time.

"Barret, when was the last time you spoke with Tifa?" Barret paused before answering.

"About ten days. Look now don't go getting' all worried! She pro'lly just went to Nibelheim. She was tellin'me about it a month ago. Said somethin' bout' collectin' her feelins'. I figured that's where she went anyway. She just don't nomally go and leave me an' Marlene hangin' like this. But she's a grown woman and can fight for herself, so I'm not really worried bout' it too much." Barret, his words thick with slang, was all Cloud needed.

"Thanks."

" Tell me how it goes Spike" Barret knew that Cloud would go to Nibelheim. He knew the man was going to find his best friend, so he silently wished the two of them good luck and hung up. Cloud heard the phone disconnect and placed his PHS back into his pocket.

"To Nibelheim then." It was a start at least. He would find her. If she wasn't in Nibelheim then he could always sit at their apartment waiting. After all she had to come back eventually right? He remembered that he was supposed to be the one away. Not Tifa. Him. He was supposed to be finding _Her_ and the Promised Land to seek forgiveness. But that could wait. He would find Tifa first and then continue his travels, once he knew she was safe.

"I'll be home again " With that, Cloud left to find his bar mistress, his best friend, and the most constant thing in his life.

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Tifa drove for a while. Days passed before she reached Nibelheim as she had stopped to rest several times. She stopped her motorbike when she got to the gate and sighed.

" Well Tifa, this is where it all started. Cloud, Sephiroth…" The young woman stepped off her bike and placed it to the side. As she walked she knew where she wanted to go. The well. She took in all of her surroundings. It was hard to imagine everything was rebuilt. A copy. Nothing more than a copy of the original. But still, the sights held memories close to her heart. She made her way to the well as she saw a familiar profile sitting on the edge.

"Oh!" Tifa exclaimed.

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Cloud was sitting on the side of the well when he heard movement. He had driven straight to Nibelheim and was a little weary. But when he heard footsteps he knew he wasn't imagining it. He turned around sharply on guard.

" Tifa…" A sigh of relief almost escaped his lips but he held it in.

"Cloud…"

Ok guys it was longer right? You notice Cloud doesn't think of Aerith and Sephy's name, he just uses _her_ and _him_ while Tifa uses their name? Well people deal with things differently right? I hope you enjoyed this. It is 1:00 and I'm exhausted so oyasumi(goodnight) or goodmorning for that matter. Oh yea how was Barret's accent? I listen to TV a lot and well I tried! Wrong or right anyone?

Jya ne. Until next time. With lots of xClotix fluff in it. Think…sometime this week, as I have more free time and no longer have writers block. Well see ya's!

Don't forget to R+R! Oh you can e-mail me too if you want. I'm at


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Final Fantasy VII, Drama, Romance